


Leave Your Body Open (Swim)

by dawons



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, A lot of alcohol use, Advanced Technology, All Pairings Pretty Much Main, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Chanhee :), Character Death, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Felt Like I Needed To Clarify, Fuck Dawon tho, Gang Violence, Gangs, Heavy Angst, I drink to forget but I always remember, I'm choosing to not bring up Seokwoo in the tags, Inseong is a Pretty Boy, Jaeyoon Getting Shit Done, Juho's a fucking idiot, Knifeplay, M/M, More Based on Upgrade, Multiple Pairings, Murder, One Character Gets Roofied ONE Time and Inseong is Not Involved, Other Idols In The Gang (Got7 EXO Loona Members Among Others), Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Sanghyuk is a Baby and I Love Him on a Personal Level, Shameless Smut, Shit Will Get Dark, Slightly Based on Detroit: Become Human But Not Really, Taeyang is Literally Just Trying to Live His Unbothered Life, Very Minor Drug Use, Youngbin is a Gang Leader, Youngkyun :), Zuho isn't, anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25047970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dawons/pseuds/dawons
Summary: "So you're in a gang?""Kind of?" Juho swings his legs awkwardly from the edge of the barstool, eyeing the man in front of him with cautious eyes. "But why do you want to know?"The dark haired man, Kim Inseong, raises his eyebrows and leans forward over the bar's countertop. He smells like vanilla and whatever cheap alcohol he must have spilled on the front of his apron minutes before while pouring somebody's drink across the bar. "Because you just shot a guy outside and came in acting like it's just a regular Tuesday for you.""It's Tuesday?"-or, the one in which juho gets trapped in a gang and finds comfort in the bartender halfway across the city.
Relationships: Baek Juho | Zuho/Kim Inseong, Kim Seokwoo | Rowoon/Kim Youngkyun | Hwiyoung, Kim Youngbin/Lee Sanghyuk | Dawon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Leave Your Body Open (Swim)

**Author's Note:**

> warning:  
> this work contains strong elements of violence and gore.

It’s cold.

Not like that fact is any different from any other September night, though. The nights are always colder than the day; when the sun abandons the world, disappearing into the horizon, it leaves in its wake a colder reality until its destined return. 

And, well, it _sucks_. 

Juho used to be a night person, before he’d moved to the city for college. His situation had been fine for a year; he’d found a cheap apartment, a well paying job, and had excelled in his studies almost effortlessly. According to Murphy’s law, though, everything that could potentially, _possibly_ go wrong, would. His workplace went out of business, his rent got pricier, and without a proper income he’d fallen behind on payments. He couldn’t find another hiring job in time.

The eviction notice he’d received that day sits on his kitchen table, underneath an emptied bottle of soju that rolls whenever the table’s nudged by the draft coming in through the open window. One of its legs is shorter than the others, leaving the rickety piece of furniture unstable. 

Juho leans against his bed, his window opened to the fall air to allow it entrance into his home for the next three days. Juho feels comforted by the cold, in an odd way. It’s a welcomed ally in the depressed space that makes up Juho’s apartment.

With his cheeks stained red, Juho had made stupid decisions. Decisions that broke promises he’d made to his best friend, that he was too ashamed to admit to as he stares forward at his opened laptop. The light from its bright display is the only one in the room; his apartment is filled with a living darkness, which ebbs and pulls around each corner. 

His computer gives off a blue hue to the darkness, almost adding to it in a way. The device sits open on the floor, demanding his attention as it stares at the drunken man. Juho breathes out shallowly through his lips, feeling his panic drown underneath the alcohol he’d downed the moment he brought the notice stapled to his door inside. He’d been saving the liquor for a special occasion, but he supposes that his final hurrah with his home should be at least a little exciting.

Maybe submitting his life story onto a popular forum on the dark web wasn’t exactly the smartest way to celebrate, or the smartest way to look for a job that could possibly save him from sinking. But, hey, what else was he to do? The soju controls his actions and doesn’t allow him to see that this idea was a bad one. It’s a very, _very_ bad idea, and as he’d already submitted his post, his life now hangs in the balance of whoever had chosen to read through the forum that night. 

Yet, when Juho’s computer flickers white as it refreshes the page, the soju can’t keep all of his bottled up beneath the surface. He watches the screen flick back to the page it had been on before, only now he can see a message in his inbox. 

Juho pushes the laptop away from himself, scoffing as he stands. _I’m not drunk enough for this_ , he muses, scrubbing his hands against his eyes as he crosses his lonely apartment to walk to his kitchen. He opens his refrigerator door, crouching down to grab another bottle from it. The green hued glass reflects onto his hand, leaving lime colored, glassy patches on his skin as he twists the top off of the cold bottle. In the dull light, he raises the lip of the bottle to his mouth before closing his eyes, cringing at the taste but unable to stop himself as he swallows the cold liquid thickly. 

When he pulls the glass away from his lips, taking in a sharp breath, he nearly collapses. He sways heavily on his feet, breathing out shakily as he turns back to his computer. He doesn’t even know if the inboxed message is something to be worried about, but regardless, he lifts the bottle again when he’s reminded of it. 

The next time he pulls the bottle away, there’s only an inch or so of liquor left at the bottom of it. He holds the drink by the neck of the bottle, stumbling back to his bed before picking up his laptop. He pinches the top screen of it between his fingers, lifting the device into his arms before he collapses onto his bed. He lets his computer fall onto the comforter beside him, and his other hand reaches upwards in an attempt to keep the liquid inside his drink rather than allowing it to spill out. 

He sits up, drunkenly clambering for his laptop before he pulls it into his lap. “Alright,” he slurs, pinning the back of one of his hands over his lips suddenly before cocking his head backwards when a bout of nausea comes over him. He shuts his eyes tightly. 

When Juho opens his eyes once again to the dark space, the room begins swimming around him. He can’t focus on the screen in front of him until he opens the inboxed message; when he does, things seem to still around him almost instantly.

The air in the room becomes stagnant as he reads over the text he’d been sent, his adrenaline jumping as he begins to feel an urge to run.

**Juho -**

**After reading your post, I’ve become interested in meeting you. Though, I’m unsure you know the severity of posting on the specific forum you did. Not many people are bold enough to ask for work somewhere so dangerous; you must have known that the jobs you’re looking for could be potentially harmful to you, correct?**

**I’ve already considered you as a new hire. All you need to do is show up at the address I’ve placed below to meet with me in person.**

**I can offer you a minimum of $50,000 USD for your services, but this amount can and will be negotiated depending on how well you work.**

**You’re based in Seoul - I couldn’t help but break down your firewalls a bit. They’re weak; you should fix that. You’re either brave or stupid to have security like that when you’re looking for a job in a place like this.**

**Regardless, I’d love to meet you. A public place would be best; that way we both feel comforted by the watchful eye of the city. Meet me at this restaurant tomorrow night at 7PM [** **EXTERNAL LINK, OPEN IN NEW TAB?** **]. There’s already a reservation under the name KY.**

**And, if you don’t show, I have plenty of workers ready to strike at a moment’s notice.**

**Kidding!**

**Maybe not. I’d show up.**

Juho closes his eyes, scoffing before he drops the bottle he holds onto the floor. “Fake,” he drawls, raising his hands towards the ceiling. “Fake,” he repeats, but his voice quivers with fear as the realization sets in on him that _this is real_. 

None of it’s fake. How could it be fake? Who would fuck with somebody like this? He’s grown, he doesn’t need to be taught lessons like a child. 

He sits up quickly, nauseously raising a hand to cover his mouth again as he looks back at his laptop. “Shit,” he breathes, shaking his head slowly as he rereads the message. “Oh, _shit_ …” 

The soju begins to lose its hold on Juho. As before he’d been played like a marionette by the alcohol coursing through his body, now he feels an uncomfortable control over himself once again. 

He needs to see if this is real. Needs to test it somehow; he looks through the message once more before he reaches for his phone, which had prior been sitting idly on his pillow. He unlocks it, opens the link to the address the stranger had sent him on his laptop, and navigates to find the restaurant’s phone number on their website. 

Typing it into his phone, he hesitates before hitting the call button. It was late, maybe he should wait until tomorrow...

He can’t wait. If he doesn’t do it now, he never will. He hits the call button and puts his phone on speaker, his heart dropping when he hears somebody begin speaking on the other line after three rings. 

“ _Thank you for calling the Lucky Clover. How can I help you?”_ The woman on the other end of the phone sounds tired. Juho can tell she yawns when she pulls the phone away from herself for a moment.

“Um,” he scrunches his eyes closed with concentration, racking his brain to figure out what to do before he remembers the reservation. “I just wanted to call and review a reservation? If that’s okay,” he slurs slightly, and mentally kicks himself for it.

“ _Of course_ ,” she hums, “ _can you tell me the name of your reservation, sir?_ ”

“KY?” Juho murmurs, 

Her voice gains a sharper edge, and her response sounds much cheerier than her other words had been. Juho can tell she’s putting on an act. “ _Yes, of course! You’ve reserved a booth in the back, and requested a personal waitress by the name Kwon Mina?_ ”

“Ah…” Juho freezes, his panic rising to his throat as if he’s going to throw it up. His stomach drops; it’s real. It’s completely real. It’s too intricate to _not_ be real. “That… That sounds-”

“ _I’m sorry, sir,_ ” The woman cuts him off, her tone dropping into a softer one, “ _but you aren’t who you say you are_.”

“I-”

She continues, speaking over Juho quickly. “ _I wouldn’t lie about that… It’s dangerous, especially in a place like-”_

Juho hangs up, dropping the phone onto the bed as his hands begin to shake. “Oh my God,” he whimpers, pinning his hand tighter to his mouth before sliding out of his bed. “Oh my fucking God.”

He remembers his best friend warning him about these sorts of things. Remembers sitting on the younger’s couch, joking about some of the sites he’d found when his friend became serious.

_“Juho, this is dangerous…”_

_“Chanhee, it’s all good. I know what I’m doing.”_

Clearly, Juho _didn’t_ know what he was doing. He was absolutely clueless. And now he’d pay for it, likely severely. He’s fucked - the alcohol may be heightening his fear, he can’t tell, but regardless he feels his anxiety coursing through him. It refuses to leave, stirring up a primal urge in him that’s screaming for him to run.

“Oh, shit…” He breathes, shaking his head. “Oh fuck… Fuck… _Fuck!”_

 _“I just think that it’s a messy system. It’s dangerous, do you_ really _know what you’re doing?”_

_Chanhee leaned back on the couch, popping a piece of popcorn into the air before he caught it between his lips. Juho shrugged, raising his eyebrows as he reached down to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl on his lap._

_“I’m fine, I’m not even talking with anybody on there. Just looking.”_

_“Is it safe?”_

_If I’m not fucking with anybody, yeah. It’s like,” Juho idly bit down onto one of the pieces of popcorn he’d grabbed moments before, “it’s like the normal internet, except you have more protection against being tracked. And then there’s some websites where you can buy hitmen and shit.”_

_“Those two things aren’t comparable,” Chanhee noted, staring incredulously at the other. Juho smirked, reaching over to press his thumb against the other’s cheek, which puffed out as the younger pouted at him._

_“Don’t worry about it.” He smiled, laughing at the way his thumb sunk slightly into the other’s soft skin._

_“Are you being safe, at least?”_

_Juho drew his lips together, nodding as he pulled away. His demeanor dropped into one of unease. “Of course.”_

He had lied. He may not have known of his future during the conversation with his friend when they were in high school; sitting on his couch while they played video games under the cloak of night, but he’d remembered it when he sent out his message on the forum. 

Like a warning, the memory had been persistent at the forefront of his memory. And, idiotically, Juho had blindly ignored it.

“Fuck…”

When his phone rings, Juho nearly bursts into tears. He’s tempted to grab the device and throw it into the wall, but upon seeing a familiar picture and name filling the screen, he picks up the phone.

The moment he answers the call, he collapses against his bed once again, drawing his knees to his chest as he stares down at the floor.

“Please come over,” he murmurs meekly, hearing a soft intake of breath on the other side of the call.

_“Juho, it’s like one in the morning…”_

“Please.”

 _“I mean,”_ the other huffs, but a soft laugh rings into Juho’s ear seconds later, calming him slightly, _“alright. I’ll be there in a minute.”_

* * *

Chanhee shows up twenty minutes later, cheeks stained red from the cold outside as he stands in Juho’s doorway, kicking his shoes off before he comes inside. 

Juho hasn’t moved. He stays locked in the same position he’d been in when Chanhee hung up the phone - knees bent upwards, arms looped around them like a shield for his trembling body. 

His friend stands in the doorway still, not having noticed the older’s slouched position against his bed in the conjoined room. 

“Juho!” Chanhee finally calls, lifting his head only for his eyes to widen worriedly when he finally takes in the other’s stance. “Hey… What’s going on?”

The brunette shuts the door carefully behind himself before crossing through the small entryway to reach Juho’s bedroom. He pauses next to the kitchen table, and upon hearing the glass of an empty soju bottle clink absently when he rests his fingers on the uneven furniture, turns to see the eviction notice.

“Oh…” He picks up the paper slowly, narrowing his eyes quizzically at it. “Is this why you’re upset?”

“No.”

“Are you drunk?”

Juho shrugs, peering up at the other through his eyelashes. His racing heart still has yet to calm down, but seeing Chanhee looking so nonchalant as he drifted through the apartment made Juho feel slightly more at ease. 

“A little,” he confesses flatly, setting his head down on his arms. He jumps slightly when he feels the younger sit beside him, gently leaning against his side as he eases down against the bed. “Thanks for coming over.”

“What’s going on?”

Half of Juho wants to lie and say that nothing’s wrong. That everything’s fine and he didn’t fuck up more severely than he ever had before in his entire life. The other half of him knows he needs to confess, needs to hear the other call him an idiot or say _something_ that could possibly make this situation feel any easier.

“I fucked up,” Juho finally whispers, raising a hand to motion back to his laptop. Curiously, Chanhee reaches back to grab the device from off of Juho’s bed, pulling it down into his lap before he opens it. 

The younger unlocks the device easily, able to guess Juho’s password within three attempts. “Can you literally make a stronger password?” Chanhee murmurs, navigating to the tab Juho had left open. His eyes narrow at the sight of it. “Juho…”

The older man doesn't respond, looking over slowly to watch Chanhee’s face contort with fear as he reads over the email. He must skim over it at least three times, with how his gaze snaps back up to the top of the page before racing to the bottom over and over again.

It feels like hours that Juho watches Chanhee read over the message. He doesn’t know what to say, feels ashamed that he’d dragged the other into this.

Finally, Chanhee turns to look at him, lips parted softly as his eyebrows draw downwards nervously. “This isn’t real, right?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s real.” Juho whispers, a scared smile crossing his face as he breaks his gaze away from Chanhee’s. 

“Why…” Chanhee shakes his head, snapping the laptop closed as if something’s going to climb out of the screen if he keeps it open. “Why would you do this?”

“I-”

“-You’re an _idiot!”_ Chanhee shouts, jumping up only to begin pacing in front of Juho, a nervous trait he’d gotten from his mother. Juho had been to Chanhee’s home enough in high school to vaguely remember her being worried over the younger more than once, pacing back and forth in the kitchen as she scolded Chanhee for something he’d done stupidly. “You could have asked for help! I would have let you stay with me- fuck, my _parents_ would have let you stay with _them!”_

Juho falls silent, swallowing thickly around an excuse he knew was useless to say. Chanhee was right - he had other options, but through the disorienting glare his drunken state had thrown him into, he didn’t see them.

“You’re fucked, bro. Absolutely _fucked_ . I can’t help you with this one,” Chanhee breathes in slowly, trying to calm himself down before he exhales sharply, “why the _hell_ would you do this?”

“Fifty thousand is a lot…” Juho tries to joke, but his words feel too forced for him to be comfortable with. He winces at the sound of them, at how idiotic he sounds when he speaks. Chanhee scoffs.

“I can’t believe you.” Juho glances up when the younger sits back down in front of him, shaking his head slowly as he stares at the closed laptop he’d left on the floor. “Juho… This is fucked. This is _tomorrow_.”

“I know.”

“Do you not care!?”

“I mean, fifty thousand is a _lot!”_ Juho repeats himself, now fully behind what was once a joke. The alcohol had begun to wear him down - he’s tired as he closes his eyes, shaking his head. “Yeah, I fucked up.” He sighs, “but I can’t back out now.”

“I’m genuinely concerned.” Chanhee states flatly. Juho cracks an eye open, watching the other bite back the rest of his words. He looks distraught, rolling his palms against the floor as he mulls over his thoughts, the unsaid words that clearly still reside on the tip of his tongue.

Juho closes his eyes once again, shrugging. “Will you stay here tonight?” 

“What?”

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Only opening his eyes upon hearing the other stand, Juho’s met with the sight of Chanhee offering his hand to him, helping him finally out of his defensive position in favor of getting the older back on his feet. 

“Of course I’ll stay,” Chanhee murmurs, catching Juho when he stumbles, “fucking Christ… How much did you drink?”

“Enough.”

“Enough?” Chanhee laughs softly, helping the other into bed though Juho protests needing assistance the moment Chanhee offers any. Though, his expression falls rather quickly. “You’re not really going tomorrow, right?”

“I don’t have a choice not to.” Juho shrugs. “I don’t wanna know what they’ll do if I don’t show.”

“What if they kill you?”

“They won’t kill me,” Juho murmurs, feeling his anxiety spike up once again at the other’s words. Chanhee worriedly sits on the edge of Juho’s bed, his fingers dancing over his lap. 

“How do you know?”

Juho closes his eyes, shrugs halfheartedly, and feels himself sink into his sheets as if his bed isn’t rock hard. “I don’t.”

Chanhee scoffs, falling back against the other. He rolls onto his side, curling hesitantly against Juho before turning onto his back once again to eye the ceiling. 

Juho shifts his arm, extending it underneath Chanhee’s head to support him. “Are you sure you’re gonna stay?”

“Of course I’m staying.” Chanhee says, closing his eyes before rolling against the older’s side aggressively. “Of course.”

* * *

Juho stands in front of the Lucky Clover dressed in a white shirt and black jeans, feeling out of place as he watches men in suits mingle inside the building. Occasionally, a woman with an intimidating aura fixes him a stare through the main doors, clearly wondering why he hadn’t walked inside yet.

He stalls in front of the entrance, nervously scuffing the toe of his worn black sneaker against the pavement. The city’s lit up around him, bright lights shimmering down against the desolate city coldly. Nobody wanders on the streets beside Juho - he’s alone, standing on the curb, watching his life bounce back and forth between the entrance to the restaurant.

Part of him wants to turn around, to forget that any of this had happened. He’ll go back to his apartment, which he needs to be moved out of by the next night, he’ll take his things and run like _hell_ back home. Or, to wherever he can. His own home wasn’t an option - he was thrown out at eighteen. He’d look pathetic to go crawling back to them, and he refuses to put his pride on the line. If it came down to it, he’d rather get shot than have to confess to his family what had happened.

He walks into the restaurant, head hung low as regret immediately washes over him. He remembers Chanhee telling him to be careful before leaving his apartment that morning. He’d had the sinking feeling after watching the younger disappear down the street that he wouldn’t see him again for a while. 

“Do you have a reservation?”

Juho snaps out of his daze in front of the counter, looking quickly to the woman glancing at him from behind a sheaf of papers. She shuffles through them expertly, sets them down on the counter, and looks down to them as she waits for Juho’s response.

“Yes-”

“-KY?”

Juho’s stomach drops. He nods slowly, pulling his lips together tightly when the woman looks up. She bites the inside of her cheek, runs a hand through her dark hair, and nods.

She forces a smile. “I’ll bring you to your table.” There’s something unsaid in her stare, when her eyes widen slightly and her eyes dart to the front door before she looks back to Juho. When he stands still, waiting for her to make a move, she nods again. “Let’s go.”

Juho follows her through the restaurant, feeling like he’s insignificant compared to the other patrons, who seem far more powerful in their dress and demeanor. Up close, they’re far more intimidating than he’d believed when he saw them through the windows. 

Curiously, Juho cranes his neck to see where the woman is leading him when she passes the main dining rooms and continues onwards down a dimly lit hallway. 

“My name’s Kwon Mina,” the dark haired woman murmurs, the statement seeming out of place in the scene. Juho cocks his head curiously to the side, but nonetheless goes along with it.

“I’m Juho.”

Mina nods, finally stalling in front of the room at the end of the hallway. Juho hadn’t realized that they’d come up to the back of the restaurant until he looks around. 

“This is all happening pretty quick, huh?” Her tone’s borderline motherly when she turns to Juho, awkwardly crossing her arms to press her palms tightly against her forearms. “I feel a bit bad… Are you scared?”

Part of Juho warns him that she may be trying to trick him into opening up; to pinpoint a weak spot that she can use later. Another part of him knows he’s being an idiot, and so he nods. “Honestly? I was drunk last night. It was…” He shrugs, glancing away. “I was being an idiot, and now I’m here.”

“Well,” she smiles, looking down to the floor as she responds. “He’s definitely…” She looks up before turning back to glance at the room behind her, making sure nobody’s listening at the doorway, “he’s intimidating, but it’s just a meeting.” She assures, her smile now appearing forced. “I don’t speak with him much one on one, but he’s been nothing but kind to me personally.”

Juho nods, feeling slightly comforted by Mina’s words. “Right,” he nods, taking a slow step towards the entrance to the back room. It’s dimly lit with red tinted lighting, which drifts out and into the hallway in waves. The look of it makes Juho’s anxiety skyrocket once again. 

With one last glance to Mina, Juho walks forward and into the room, eyes widening when he sees a man standing in the center of the room, his back facing Juho as he speaks quietly into his phone. 

“Look, I don’t…” He pauses. Juho can faintly make out a voice through the phone, but it’s so garbled by the distance between him and the device that he can’t listen to what they’re saying. 

The man’s around Juho’s height, with curly brown hair and an authoritative voice. “You had _one_ job, Sanghyuk.” He murmurs, sounding exasperated. “How do you fuck that up? He’s _toying_ with you.” 

Juho scuffs his shoe awkwardly against the ground before backing out of the room, hoping that Mina will still be outside. She isn’t, and so Juho clears his throat before rapping his knuckles against the wall, peering in at the man inside as if he hadn’t been behind him moments before.

“Ah… We’ll talk about this later.” The brunette murmurs, turning to face Juho before waving him into the room. “Yeah. Okay. See you in a while.”

He hangs up the phone before smiling, and Juho’s worry begins to melt the moment their eyes meet. “Sorry,” the stranger says, laughing softly, He extends a hand and shakes Juho’s softly. “One of my guys lost some important information,” he shakes his head, still smiling as if this is a normal occurrence. “Juho, right?”

“Yeah,” Juho nods, completely lost between the change of demeanor between the man before him and the message he’d received the night before. “And… You are?”

“Youngbin.” The brunette motions to one of the few tables in the private room, and Juho slowly sits down in one of the chairs. He eyes a manila folder on top of the table, and Youngbin pulls it into his hands when he sits down across from Juho. 

Youngbin watches Juho for a moment before he frowns, the room becoming tense around them. “You’ve never done this before.” The man before Juho states simply. Juho nods slowly, taking in the other’s appearance rather slowly.

He looks too young to be doing something like this. Juho realizes that Youngbin can’t be much older than himself.

“Do you want this job?”

“I… I’m here, right?” Juho chuckles nervously. Youngbin’s lips don’t even twitch as he watches the other. Nervously, Juho presses his hands together tightly in his lap before looking down at the table. 

Youngbin repeats the question, clearly not taking Juho’s prior answer seriously. Juho knows he has no other choice than to say yes. If he says no, after having come to this restaurant to meet the man offering him a job, he’d be lying. So, he nods slowly, swallowing uncomfortably when the other opens the folder without a second question.

“I want this job,” Juho nods, watching the other cautiously, as if he’ll strike at a moment’s notice. Though, the other looks relatively harmless. His hair’s slightly disheveled, and his flushed demeanor from when he’d gotten off his phone call makes Juho believe he isn’t as tough as he tried to make himself appear. 

Juho has no idea what the job is, but he wants it. He’d been reluctant before, but when he remembers that the other had waved 50,000 dollars in front of his face in his message, he’s completely for the idea of working.

Youngbin’s delighted by Juho’s words, and slides the folder over the table towards the other. “I’m glad,” he muses, his resting frown flipping into a smile when he draws his fingers away from the sheaf of papers that stare up at Juho. “Take as much time as you need to read that over.”

“It’s…” Juho hesitantly reaches forward and pulls the manila folder closer, squinting to read the small words printed on the first paper he sees. “The job?”

“Yes.”

Juho purses his lips, beginning to flip through and skim the papers slowly. The job seems basic, from what he reads. It’s a security and retrieval job, but Juho realizes slowly that he doesn’t have the abilities that Youngbin had written about in the description. He isn’t that strong, and definitely isn’t as fast as the other would like.

“I might not be qualified for this,” Juho begins slowly, looking up after a moment. Youngbin shrugs.

“You will be.”

“You sound pretty sure,” Juho tries to joke again, and feels successful when he yanks another grin from Youngbin. 

The brunette leans forward, flipping through the papers for a moment before pulling one out. He leaves it with Juho while he takes the others, organizing them as he leaves Juho to read the final page. “Trust me,” he murmurs, “you’re qualified.”

“I didn’t expect a gang to have a contract,” Juho mumbles, looking down at the blank spaces where his signature belongs on the sheet. Youngbin glances up at him from over the papers, smiling.

“I’d feel better knowing you consented with what we’re gonna do.”

Juho decides he likes Youngbin. He’s transparent.

**WITH MY CONSENT, I GIVE LEE JAEYOON PERMISSION TO MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS TO MY BODY AS HE DEEMS NECESSARY.**

**X____________________________**

Juho likes the transparency a little more now, but doesn’t know how he feels about Youngbin and his job still. 

“So what’s this about?” He tries casually, raising an eyebrow before placing his finger on the simple line of text at the top of the page. Youngbin doesn’t seem surprised at the question, just glances down at where Juho’s finger sits poised on top of the paper.

“If you get shot,” Youngbin starts, musing, “you might need surgery.”

“I might get shot?”

“Well what do you think happens on a retrieval job?”

“I…” Juho furrows his eyebrows. “Like, I go somewhere and get something and bring it back to you.”

Youngbin can’t hold back a soft laugh, pressing his knuckle against his lips after a moment in hopes to conceal it. “No, you’re not a dog. I’m not making you play fetch.” Juho glances down at the paper and reads the first line once more before Youngbin continues. “I need you to retrieve a person.”

“A person.” Juho repeats, disbelief lacing his tone. “A person?”

“Yep,” Youngbin says nonchalantly, returning his attention to the papers he’s still sorting through. “A person. He made off with some of my product a while ago, and I need him and it back.”

“Your product?”

“Weapons. Drugs.” Youngbin specifies as he sets the papers down finally, pushing them back into the manila folder. There aren’t many, maybe four or five sheets that Juho had only skimmed through for the details of the job. “Not interested anymore?”

“Oh, I still am!” Juho defends quickly, not ready to give up on fifty grand yet. It isn’t much, but it’s just enough to take care of his student loans, and potentially help him find a new apartment if he has enough left over. If not, then he’d reluctantly go back home. 

But for now, he’s invested and unwilling to let go of the premise of the job.

He signs the space below the agreement, reads the next one, and signs.

  
  


**AT ANY POINT, MY LIVING SITUATION MAY BE ALTERED DEPENDING ON WHAT KIM YOUNGBIN DEEMS NECESSARY.**

**X____________________________**

  
  


He signs again. And again, until each slot is filled and Youngbin’s slowly pulling the folder back towards himself.

  
  


**I WILL UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE STEAL FROM, LIE TO, OR TERMINATE THIS CONTRACT WITH KIM YOUNGBIN.**

**X____________________________**

**BY TERMINATING THIS CONTRACT OR BY DISOBEYING THE RULES IT STATES, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I WILL LOSE MY JOB AND FACE RAMIFICATIONS THAT KIM YOUNGBIN DEEMS NECESSARY.**

**X____________________________**

  
  


Juho doesn’t see how odd the statements he agrees to are, and sighs with relief when Youngbin finally folds the paper back into the folder and sets it down on the seat beside himself.

“You’ll start tomorrow.” Youngbin states simply, looking towards the door. Juho follows his gaze, eyes widening when Mina walks into the room carrying two glasses. 

Her eyes lock onto Juho’s, a nervous smile on her face when she turns her attention to Youngbin. When she places the glasses on the table, her finger drags against one slowly, but Juho’s too occupied with worrying about how pale she’d become to realize it.

Youngbin takes the drink she hadn’t run her finger against the side of, pulling it away from the center of the table so that Juho’s left with the other one.

“Is everything going alright?” She asks, voice trembling ever so slightly when she takes a step back. Youngbin raises an eyebrow at her but says nothing, and lowers his gaze only when she backs up further towards the door. 

When Juho’s about to respond, Mina spins on her heel and leaves the two alone, disappearing into the dark hallway. He stares after her, slowly turning back to Youngbin after realizing she won’t be coming back.

Upon noticing the glass left for him in the center of the table, Juho reaches for it and brings it to his lips before pausing. Youngbin doesn’t seem as interested in him as he’d been before. Instead, he focuses on the table, staring down at it as if it’s the most interesting object he’d seen.

Curious, Juho takes a slow, long sip of his drink. Youngbin looks up to him, cocking his head to the side before he smiles. Juho mimics him, nervously laughing when he smiles.

“So, what do you study?”

“Music composition.” Juho hums, almost proudly. 

Youngbin looks impressed, but he crushes the glimmer in his eye in seconds. “You look like an artistic type,” Youngbin observes kindly. “You go to Seoul University, right?”

“Yeah, did I tell you that already?” 

“No, just a lucky guess.” Youngbin reaches down and brings his glass to his lips, raising an eyebrow at Juho when he catches him staring. “What?”

“Oh! Nothing, sorry,” Juho drops his gaze and takes another sip from his own drink, awkwardly smiling as he realizes how painfully easy it had been to get the job. 

All he’d had to do was show up and sign a contract. It seems too good to be true - but Juho’s too blinded to realize that. He’s hung up on the money still, on the premise that he’s about to be the proud owner of fifty thousand dollars. It seemed too easy; but the job wouldn’t be. He knows that much, at least. He knows that whatever’s waiting up Youngbin’s sleeve is dangerous, ready to strike and kill him at any given time, yet he feels he’s ready for it.

He trusts Youngbin, he decides, as he takes another mouthful of his drink. It’s cold on his lips but burns his throat when he swallows, and Juho winces at the feeling of it. Youngbin eyes the other’s drink when he sets it down on the table, saying nothing as he lifts his own and takes another quiet sip of it. 

Juho doesn’t know what to say, but the silence between them isn’t awkward. It’s comforting, almost - he’s relieved to have a moment to think about everything that had transpired within the past two days.

It’s slightly comical to him, though, that he’d begun to trust Youngbin so easily. Someone so threatening had become one of Juho’s allies in a mere matter of minutes. 

“How do you feel?” Youngbin starts suddenly, catching Juho slightly off guard.

“Oh, I… Feel okay,” Juho murmurs. He feels the tension leave his body slowly, and relaxed he leans against the seat behind himself.

“Do you smoke?”

“Not usually.”

Juho watches idly as Youngbin pulls a white paper box from his pocket, opening it to pull a cigarette from the packaging. “Then I hope you won’t mind if I step outside for a minute.”

“Not at all,” Juho shakes his head politely, watching as Youngbin smiles and stands from the table.

“Come with me,” Youngbin offers, pushing the box back into his pocket. “You look a bit pale.”

Juho knows the other’s left him no room to argue - his command is draped underneath a blanket of choice, but the connotation of his statement is final. Juho stands, silently following Youngbin to the door on the other side of the room.

The brunette slides it open, holding it ajar for Juho to slip through.

And, when Juho stumbles, suddenly feeling weak, Youngbin’s almost too quick to catch him. As if he knew the other would become unbalanced, his hand lashes out and grabs Juho’s arm, drawing him back up to help him regain his balance. 

“Careful,” Youngbin chuckles, something menacing in his voice. Juho doesn’t hear it, too focused on his own confusion and why he suddenly felt so lightheaded.

Juho can’t bring himself to speak, the dark street swimming around him as he tries to get ahold of himself.

He doesn’t see Youngbin reach for his phone, or process any of the words spoken between the man and whoever he calls. He can’t focus on anything, his own body feeling foreign to him.

Youngbin shakes him slightly, and Juho looks slowly at him, shaking his head. At the movement, he’d become slightly nauseous, and so he closes his eyes in an attempt to still his stomach and nerves. 

He can barely focus on anything anymore. He didn't think he'd get drunk off of the slight amount he'd drank, yet he sways on his heels and clings weakly to Youngbin to stay upright, his face warm even though the air around him is freezing. He vaguely believes he hears a car somewhere in front of him on the street, but he keeps his eyes closed and tries to ignore it.

Youngbin murmurs something above him gently before reaching down to grab Juho's shoulder. The contact isn't violent, but what happens next is.

Juho's thrown forward, his eyes opening moments before he crashes into somebody's chest. He needs to force himself not to throw up, head spinning as he tries to come up with any explanation for what's happening. The world moves around him in a thick, colorless blur, and all he can process is vague images as he's thrown around painfully. There's a heavy pressure on his arms, and his head begins to swim as his vision darkens.

A man with dark hair looks down at him before frowning, turning him around quickly to face the back of the restaurant. Youngbin still leans against the wall, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips as he watches the dark haired man. It's as if he's testing him - the look in his eyes demanding he goes farther while the man holding Juho obliges.

Juho stammers out a quiet _what is this_ before he feels something soft press against his lips and nose, and he slowly shakes his head when a sweet, almost alcoholic scent fills his nose and a taste that's just as sweet and even more toxic fills his mouth. His head feels fuzzy when he inhales, and he feels himself growing heavier against the other the longer the soft material's held against his face. 

The last thing Juho sees is Youngbin standing up from against the wall, walking towards them before he finally blacks out.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Please take some time to click through the carrd below and do what you can to show your support and help.  
> https://getinformed.carrd.co/
> 
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> 
> \- Elise


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